Crusaders welcome to Sports Direct Premiership "new boys" Loughgall to Seaview on Saturday on Day 6 of the 2023/24 season. Crusaders remain unbeaten after the month of August and hope to continue that form while Loughgall sit mid table with a tally of two wins, one draw and two losses which they can be satisfied with after the first five games.
Crusaders will be without Jordan Forsythe for this game after his sending off in Tuesday night 2-2 draw with Glentoran. Everyone else should be fit although Paul Heatley did get hurt late on in the game but we will wait to see if Stephen Baxter and his management team decide to give some weary legs a rest and freshen up the starting XI after the games played in August. Ben Kennedy continues to show he is back to his best after another solid performance against Glentoran while Jordan Owens again proved he is the man of the moment with another goal to add to his tally. We may see Ross Clarke or Jude Winchester get a start in midfield to replace Jordan Forsythe while James Teelan could replace Paul Heatley if he does not make it.
Loughgall boss Dean Smith will be happy with his teams performance so far and wins against Newry City and Dungannon Swifts plus a draw against Glenavon have them sitting in seventh place in the Premiership. Still finding their way Loughgall will be looking a big scalp to really announce they are in the top division so Crusaders will need to be ready for their visit. Nathaniel Ferris, Andrew Hoey and Caolan Loughran have all scored two goals each so far and will be the danger men again. Jay Boyd who is on loan from Crusaders to Loughgall will not play due to his loan agreement.
Your support has been superb home and away with numbers up each week and we want that to continue. Buy your ticket now at www.crusadersfc.com or call to Harry D's and buy when open. You can also buy from the ticket office from 1.30pm up to kick off and this is situated just inside the doors of the McDonald Centre. Let's get out in numbers and show we are in this journey together. Keep the Faith. C'mon the Crues.